The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death

New Essays

Edited by James Stacey Taylor

The first volume to bring together previously unpublished essays on the metaphysics of death and its relationship to issues in bioethics.

Represents the state of the art of philosophical thanatology

The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death

New Essays

Edited by James Stacey Taylor

Description

The questions that surround death--Is death a harm to the person who dies? Should we be afraid of death? Can the dead be harmed? Can they be wronged?--have been of widespread interest since Classical times. This interest is currently enjoying a renaissance across a broad spectrum of philosophical fields, ranging from metaphysics to bioethics. This volume is the first to bring together original essays that both address the fundamental questions of the metaphysics of death and explore the relationship between those questions and some of the areas of applied ethics in which they play a central role.

The essays in Part I of this volume examine some of the Classical approaches to fundamental metaphysical questions surrounding death, addressing in particular the question of whether a person's death can be a harm to her. The theme of the value of death is continued in Part II, with essays addressing this issue through a more contemporary lens. The essays in Part III address the related but separate issue of whether persons can be harmed by events that occur after they die. Finally, the essays in Part IV apply the metaphysical issues addressed in Parts I through III to various issues in bioethics, including the question of posthumous organ procurement, suicide, and survival after brain injury.

Written by some of the most prominent philosophers working on these issues today, the essays in this volume showcase the state of the art of both the metaphysics of death and its importance to many areas of applied ethics.

The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death

New Essays

Edited by James Stacey Taylor

Table of Contents

ContributorsAcknowledgementsIntroduction - James Stacey Taylor

Section I: Classical Approaches to Death and their Critics The Damage of Death: Incomplete Arguments and False Consolations - Martha C. NussbaumThe harm of death in Cicero's first Tusculan disputation - James WarrenEpicurus on the Value of Death - Kai Draper

Section II: Death, and the Value of Death The Evil of Death One More Time: Parallels between Time and Space - Harry S. Silverstein, Adaptation - Steven LuperDeath and Desires - Ben Bradley and Kris McDanielKripke's Moses - Palle YourgrauConcepts of Value and Our Thinking about Death - Stephen E. Rosenbaum

Section III: Posthumous Harm The Vulnerability of the Dead - Geoffrey ScarreWelfare and Harm After Death - Barbara Baum Levenbook

The Metaphysics and Ethics of Death

New Essays

Edited by James Stacey Taylor

Author Information

James Stacey Taylor is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at The College of New Jersey. He primarily writes on autonomy theory, and the metaphysics of death, as well as on how these theoretical issues relate to matters of practical ethical concern.

Contributors:

David Benatar is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cape Town.Ben Bradley is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University. Kai Draper is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Delaware.Walter Glannon is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Calgary.John Harris is the Lord Alliance Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Institute for Science, Ethics, and Innovation at the University of Manchester.Barbara Baum Levenbook is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University.Steven Luper is Professor of Philosophy at Trinity University.Kris McDaniel is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University.Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the Law School at the University of Chicago.Stephen E. Rosenbaum is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nevada-Law Vegas.Geoffrey Scarre is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and the Co-Director of Durham University Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage.Harry S. Silverstein is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy at Washington State University.James Stacey Taylor is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at The College of New Jersey.James Warren is a Reader in Ancient Philosophy and a Fellow and Director of Studies in Philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University. Palle Yourgrau is the Harry A. Wolfson Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University.